1. Make the stock. Put the lamb bones in a large heavy-based saucepan with the carrot, onion, celery, herbs, peppercorns and 1 tsp salt. Pour in 3 litres/5 1⁄4 pints water. Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for 2 hours.
2. Strain the stock through a fine sieve to remove bones and vegetables, then return to the pan. Boil until reduced to about 1.3 litres/21⁄4 pints. (You can make the stock the day before – keep it in a covered container in the fridge, or freeze it for up to 3 months.)
3. Make the stew. Cut the lamb into large chunks. Peel the potatoes (keeping both types separate) and cut into pieces of similar size to the meat. Put the two different types in separate bowls of water to keep them white. Peel the carrots and cut into slightly smaller pieces. Slice the onions into thick rings.
4. Put the lamb in a large, clean saucepan. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, skimming off all the impurities from the surface. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
5. Add the floury potatoes, carrots and onions. Season generously and simmer for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Add the waxy potatoes and thyme. Simmer until the lamb is tender (15-20 minutes). Take off the heat, cover (don’t stir) and leave for 15 minutes. (You can make this up to 2 days ahead and keep in the fridge). Garnish and serve.

1. Boil some carrots and two small cloves of garlic. Cut up the garlic cloves, or better, mash them out a bit.
2. Add a chicken bouillon cube to boiling carrots IF YOU WISH. If you are feeding vegetarians or vegans, don’t.
3. If you wish, you can also chop up some sweet red peppers and add them to the boil.
4. When the boiling stuff is soft, transfer it to a blender and blend it. The key here is to get the consistency you want. Let water boil off until you think there is just enough left to pleasantly liquefy the carrots etc. It is better not to pour water off afterwards, because you will also be pouring off all the stuff that gets into the water from the carrots (i.e. nutritional content).
5. Dice two more small cloves of garlic.
6. In the boiling pot, melt a bit of butter, a tablespoon or so. Add the diced garlic and let it simmer a moment or so, but not burn. If you are feeding vegans, do not use butter. Use a wee bit of olive oil or something else. Oil doesn’t mix in as well though, so use as little as possible.
7. Pour in the soup from the blender. Mix it together with the garlic and butter in the pot.
8. Stir in some cajun seasoning. I usually sprinkle enough to lightly cover the top of the pot, but really it is to taste. You can add some seasoning salt too if you wish.
9 Eat.

Method:
In a large skillet or wok, heat oil, on high heat, until hot. Add garlic and onions and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add remaining vegetables and stir-fry until vegetables are slightly limp. Add stock, cover and simmer 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in basil, salt and pepper to taste.